We never realized we are living so close to the Caribbean Sea. On the vigil of Christmas, Fr. Simon took us for a ride and to our surprise down the street this is what we saw…many people in Haiti are afraid of the water and because of that they don’t go swimming. We found out why they don’t like to swim because of their experiences with water, like hurricanes and floods.
In our house along with bugs we have lizards everywhere. We welcome them joyfully because they eat the mosquitoes.
“Today, we like Mother Mary enter the house of Jacmel and greet you.” These were words of greeting we said to the people of Jacmel in Creole at the end of the Mass of Welcome on Sunday, December 23, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, in the Bishop’s chapel. During the Mass Bishop Launay Saturne welcomed us into the diocese. The Children’s choir sang a Christmas carol for us in english, and the youth choir sang a song of welcome. After Mass the people greeted us.
We spent the whole day with the Bishop visiting a few religious communities and parishes. We believe it is God’s providence that we are here in Jacmel to begin the Felician mission in Haiti.
On our first Christmas Eve in Jacmel we shared the Christmas opłatek remembering every Felician Sister, our families and friends throughout the world. We pray that this Christmas the Word may be made flesh in your reality. May God’s blessing be upon you through this New Year!
As we write this blog we hear Christmas carols in Creole, French and English. People everywhere in Jacmel and nearby towns we visited today are preparing their Christmas manger and lights to welcome this holy night. In Haiti the people don’t have wiglia. For supper, as always, we had rice and beans and exchanged gifts with the priests and enjoyed the company of one another.
We are so grateful to the entire Immaculate Conception central convent community, Lodi, NJ, the sisters, employees, benefactors and everyone who helped to “pack the container” to the brim. “May God’s blessings fill your lives.”
After we unpacked and got settled in our rooms, we decorated for Christmas with the manger scene and small tree that was donated by a few of our Felician Sisters. Haiti does not have the custom to decorate trees but we noticed in the entrance of the house the figures for the Christmas crèche are waiting to be placed in the church for Christmas Eve. As we write this, the many choirs that are in Sacred Heart parish are practicing for the Christmas Vigil at midnight outside under the trees, that will probably last a few hours. We also prepared small gifts that we received from the States for those who work in the parish.
On December 19 we said “bay-bay” (good-bye) to Port-au-Prince and arrived at the Bishop’s house in Jacmel around lunch time. After a warm welcome and lunch, Bishop Launay Saturne took us to Sacred Heart Parish outside of town where we will stay until our home is ready. Sacred Heart Church was one of the first church’s to be rebuilt after the earthquake. Here we were welcomed by the pastor, Fr. Simon and his associate, Fr. Wilner. During our stay here we will continue our Creole classes everyday, meet the priests, religious communities, and different Church communities in the diocese.
Below are some pictures of the Church, the house where we live and the grounds. Notice the mountains that surround us. As we were walking the grounds we noticed the statue of the Sacred Heart that was in the old church that was destroyed in the earthquake. When we saw the statue we heard the famous prayer by Teresa of Avila (1515–1582):
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
For the past three weeks Phil, the plant manager at Immaculate Conception Central Convent in Lodi, NJ, with his team of men; Sister Mary Joanita and her team of ladies; all Felician Sisters in the central convent, and Felician friends, were busy gathering things, packing boxes, labeling and donating items to be sent to the new Felician mission in Jacmel. So many people have been working non-stop to pack the 40 foot container. We stand in awe at the outpouring of love for the people of Haiti. We are grateful to everyone who has made this project possible and share in the Felician mission in Haiti through prayer, sacrifice, time, talent and treasure. May God bless you!
On Thursday, December 13, we were invited to Holy Name College School in Mississauga, Canada. The school participated in our Advent Project and collected over 2,000 toiletries for those still in Tent cities in Haiti. They will deliver the items to Lodi, NJ to be loaded in the container being sent to Haiti next week.
We met with the whole school community to share about the Felician mission in Haiti. After the presentation three faculty members want to come in the summer to volunteer in our mission. In the evening we were invited to lead the prayer before the annual Christmas concert. Today, together with some other Felician SIsters, we participated in the Advent School Mass. Fr. James, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, who celebrated the Mass works with an organization that has an orphanage in Jacmel. Small world, eh?
Our Felician brother in Christ, Yvon wrote us a beautiful comment and we want to share it with you.
“I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve the
Lord, my Good, in this capacity. What I received from you and
because of you, is far greater than what I could ever have given to
you. I know you have to go but I can’t help been sad. I feel the
pain of a father who is marrying his two daughters. But I am also
very happy for you, my daughters, who are accomplishing what you
set out to do. I am happy for the people you will be serving in
Jacmel; I am forever in your debt for helping me renew my
spirituality, for embracing “Pou Solèy Leve” as if it were your own
cause, for loving my children and everyone who is in my
environment. For strengthening my faith and the belief that one
always receives a lot more than one could ever give for it is by
giving that we receive. So go Sr. Marilyn and Sr. Inga with my
blessings, my appreciation and my love, know that you will always
have a place in my heart and my home. God Bless you.”
Felician Sisters of North America Mission: Haiti 